Police ID body found under Knoxville deck - and more Chattanooga region news

Police ID body found under Knoxville deck - and more Chattanooga region news

April 22nd, 2014by Staff Reports and Wire Service in Local Regional News

Police ID body found under Knoxville deck

KNOXVILLE - Police say they have identified the body that a Knoxville woman found under her deck while hunting for Easter eggs with her 3-year-old son.

The Knoxville News Sentinel cited a statement from police that said the body belonged to 29-year-old Joshua Wayne Grubb, who was homeless.

Police say his death will be listed as natural causes unless the final autopsy results show something unexpected. The initial report found that Grubb suffered from a medical condition that could have led to his death.

Police said Grubb had been dead about two weeks when he was found.

Homeowner Tara Hanouskova said she had noticed a foul smell but didn't find the body until last Wednesday when she saw tennis shoes in the crawl space under her deck while hunting for eggs.

AG seeks to block Barron evidence

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The state attorney general's office is asking an appeals court to keep a former senator from presenting evidence at trial about how other candidates have spent their campaign funds.

Attorney General Luther Strange's staff argues that a DeKalb County judge ruled incorrectly that former Sen. Lowell Barron could introduce evidence about how other candidates, including the attorney general, customarily spend campaign funds.

One of the charges against Barron and former aide Jill Johnson accuse Barron of paying her a $50,000 bonus from campaign funds so she could repay a $50,000 debt to him. Barron's lawyers want to show that the attorney general paid a campaign aide a larger bonus.

Prosecutors say Barron has no evidence that any other candidate used a campaign bonus to put money in his own pocket.

Man charged in thefts from seniors

JACKSON, Tenn. - Jackson police have charged a contract painter with stealing more than $13,000 from apartments in a senior living community.

The police department in Jackson said30-year-old Stephen Bragg has been charged with theft and aggravated burglary.

Police said Bragg was hired to do interior painting at the Jackson Meadow Independent Senior Living Community. Residents were moved from the community after a March 4 fire.

Residents were told to leave their doors unlocked so contractors could do repairs. When they returned weeks later, they found cash, jewelry and other items missing.

Investigators said Bragg stole items from six to eight apartments.

Bragg has been in custody at the Madison County Jail since April 14 on an unrelated burglary charge. The Associated Press could not determine if he has a lawyer.

Marion Democrats set Thursday rally

MONTEAGLE, Tenn. - The Marion County Democratic Party will hold a Democratic rally for all candidates on Thursday at 6 p.m. CDT, according to a news release.

The event will be held at the Senior Citizens Center in Monteagle. Each candidate will have three minutes to speak to the group, with the speeches followed by a coffee meet and greet.